David L. Soltz, Ph.D., became Bloomsburg University’s 18th president in January 2008 after serving as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Central Washington University.

Since arriving at Bloomsburg, Soltz has concentrated on building programs and infrastructure for today’s students and those who will follow. The university’s strategic plan, Impact 2015: Building on the Past, Leading for the Future, was developed under his leadership and introduced in fall 2010. A new general education model that is currently in the implementation stage is designed to enhance learning opportunities for all students and to prepare them for personal and professional success in an increasingly complex global environment.

A strong advocate for high-quality, affordable education, Soltz appeared before the state legislature in support of adequate funding for BU and the entire Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. His belief in the importance of international education has revitalized Bloomsburg’s articulation agreement with the Moscow Finance Academy and initiated agreements with institutions in other countries, including Cameroon which he visited with 22 BU students in 2011. He delivered the keynote address at the 2010 GlobalAwareness Society International conference in Poland.

Soltz has overseen additions and renovations to buildings including Haas Center for the Arts, Bakeless Center, Hartline Science Center, Nelson Field House, Sutliff Hall and Columbia and Elwell residence halls, as well as a number of projects to reduce energy consumption.

He is actively engaged in service and leadership in higher education through membership on the AASCU Policies and Purposes Committee and serves annually as the leader of an accreditation site visit team for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. He also serves as Chair of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

His goals as Bloomsburg’s president grew from his broad and deep higher education background as provost and chief academic officer at Central Washington University, dean of natural and social sciences at California State University at Los Angeles and chair of the department of biological sciences at California State University, Long Beach. As a faculty member, he’s taught courses ranging from freshman seminar and general biology for non-majors to graduate seminars on ecology and evolutionary biology.

Soltz earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a doctoral degree in biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on environmental biology and the population biology of fishes living in stressful environments, such as high temperature and high salinity. He has written one book, a symposium volume and numerous journal articles and environmental reports.

Active in the local community and the region, Soltz serves on the Geisinger Health System Advisory Council and the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The president enjoys hiking and flyfishing in his leisure time and, with his wife, Robbie, rides and raises quarterhorses. The Soltz’s have three adult children and seven grandchildren.